1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates generally to apparatus for carrying snow skis and related equipment and, more particularly, to a backpack type carrier for carying snow ski and related equipment and which may be rolled or folded into a relatively small, compact bundle for ease of carrying when not used as a ski equipment carrier.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,224,568 (Altorfer) discloses a harness with a bag secured to the harness for carrying snow ski equipment. The harness crosses the shoulders of a user, and the harness secures to the bag and, in one embodiment, to skis extending upwardly from the bag. The apparatus also includes a strap which extends about a user's waist to secure the bag to the body. Alternate uses of the harness strap, which extends about a user's shoulder, are shown. One alternate use is to extend diagonally across the front of the user's body, with both ends of the strap secured to the bag at the back of the user. Another use is to secure a double loop around the user's shoulders, with one end of the loop secured to the bag and the other end of the loop to the belt at the front of the user. Alternatively, a loop may extend around a single shoulder and down under an arm, to connect to the skis above the shoulder, and at and below the arm to connect to the bag at the back or side of the user. The bag is of a fixed size, and includes two compartments. One compartment is open at the top for carrying the skis or other equipment, and the other bag includes a closed top for carrying other items.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,530,695 (Helmert) discloses a ski carrier and waist belt which includes a relatively long strap and two relatively shorter straps extending outwardly from the ends of the long strap. Each shorter strap includes a buckle at one end and holes in the strap at the other end to secure the straps at spaced-apart locations about a pair of snow skis and ski poles. With the shorter straps secured to the skis and poles, the relatively longer strap or belt portion is adapted to be disposed over the user's shoulder for carrying the skis. With the skis removed, the relatively long strap or belt portion extends about a user's waist, and the buckle portion of one shorter belt cooperates with the opposite end of the other relatively shorter strap to provide a single waist belt made of the three separate belts.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,118,875 (Windheim) discloses another type of ski carrying apparatus which comprises a relatively elongated bag which receives a pair of snow skis and ski poles. The bag includes a strap secured to one end of the lower portion of the bag and an upper portion which includes a shorter strap portion which extends about the skis and ski poles above the top of the bag. The strap then extends about the user's shoulder for carrying the bag and the skis.
In all three patents, the skis are carried vertically. In the '695 patent, the carrier becomes a belt disposed about the user's waist when not in use as a carrier. In the '568 patent, the apparatus is secured about the body of the user by changing the carrier strap to a different position and in a different manner from that user to transport the skis. The belt or strap about the user's waist remains such. In the '875 patent, the bag remains a relatively large and cumbersome object when not in use, while the strap remains fixed to the bag at only one end.
A second embodiment of the '875 apparatus includes the relatively long belt with a shorter belt at one end and a shorter belt at the opposite end. The shorter belts extend about a pair of skis and the ski poles, and the longer belt, which extends between the two shorter belts, then becomes a shoulder carrying strap for the skis. The use of the bag is thus obviated. The primary difference between the second embodiment in the '875 patent and the belt apparatus of the '695 patent is that each shorter strap at the ends of the longer strap or belt in the '695 patent pivots on the longer strap by means of a single rivet or pin. The pin or rivet is used to connect the shorter strap to the longer strap, and thus allows the shorter straps to pivot freely so that the three belts may comprise a single waist belt. In the '875 patent, the shorter straps remain extending substantially perpendicularly to the long strap, and the apparatus is thus not adapted to be disposed about a user's waist for carrying purposes.
In the three above-described patents, none of the carrier apparatus is adapted to be folded after use and put into a pocket. Rather, in two of the cases, the apparatus remains secured about the body of the user, and in the third patent the apparatus remains relatively large and cumbersome for carrying purposes. In a second embodiment of the third patent, the strap-only configuration without the bag, the strap apparatus may be folded for carrying, but it remains a relatively large and cumbersome unit and thus is not easily carried in a user's pocket.
None of the patents discussed above makes any reference to the carrying of ski boots. However, the second embodiment in the '875 patent discloses a situation in FIG. 4 which may include provisions for integral bindings or even ski boots, since the skis are shown disposed adjacent to each other with their bottoms or runners in a "face-to-face" orientation. However, the long carrying strap which extends between the two short straps and which are disposed about the skis and the ski poles is shown extending along or outwardly from the top of one ski, and thus aligned with a binding and a ski boot. If ski boots were to be secured in the bindings, the boots would dig into the user's back. Since there is no discussion in the specification, and the drawing is not clear, it is not known what provision, if any, is made for the carrying of ski boots. Since both ski boots and bindings have changed substantially since the '875 patent was filed in 1937 and was issued in 1938, it may very well be that the provision for carrying ski boots was not contemplated.
The ski boots were usually worn by the user and not carried separately. Also, the ski bindings were much different from those in contemporary use today. In some cases, the "bindings" in the skis extant in 1937 and 1938 consisted of little more than a strap which extended about a user's boots, or which included simply a toe socket into which a user's ski boot toes extended. The bindings which were later developed in the 1940's, the 1950's and the 1960's, and the bindings in contemporary use today obviously were not contemplated in the 1930's. Accordingly, the provision for the ski boots in contemporary usage today was not a problem and was not even considered in the design of ski carriers when any of the above-discussed patents were developed and were patented. In contemporary usage today, ski boots are relatively elaborate and complicated elements, as compared to foot wear generally worn to and from ski locations. Accordingly, the carrying of ski boots is of concern for contemporary skiers.